I always start a novel by reading its last chapter – I like to know how things turn out.

A small slice of a large shelf of books about the history of Ann Arbor at the downtown Ann Arbor District Library. The AADL will be archiving the more than 10 million words that were published over the course of six years of The Ann Arbor Chronicle.

For those of you like me, who also flip to the end: This is the final word from The Chronicle.

We launched this publication six years ago with no clear ending in sight. It was a jumping-off-the-cliff moment, with the hope – but certainly no guarantee – that we’d be creating something special, even transformative. There were many times along the way when I doubted our choice to take that leap. Recall that 2008 and 2009 formed the nadir of the economic recession, and in hindsight I marvel that we were able to thrash out a livelihood.

I marvel because at that time, no one was clamoring for in-depth reports on meetings of the library board, the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority, the park advisory commission or any of the other public entities we began covering. We wrote detailed 15,000-word articles on city council meetings, in an era when traditional news media considered 500-word stories too long for the attention spans of its target demographic.

Over 10 million words later, I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished, and proud too that we’re bringing it to a close on our terms. Dave Askins wrote about that decision in his Aug. 7 column. I’d encourage you to read it, if you haven’t already.

Since that announcement, we’ve received a flow of well wishes, understanding and support – the generosity of spirit that has fueled us these past six years. Many readers also shared personal anecdotes about what The Chronicle has meant to them. That’s been meaningful for us, too, because this publication has been a very personal endeavor since its inception.

My two favorites are these: We learned that The Chronicle’s coverage of the Ann Arbor planning commission was used as flirting material with an urban planning grad student – and that couple is now married with a child. And the family of Peter Pollack – a landscape architect who died in 2010 – is including The Chronicle’s description of his legacy in a collection of materials they’ve gathered for his grandchildren, so that the next generation will learn about this remarkable man when they grow up. (We had tucked an obit for Peter into one of our regular city council reports.)

I cherish these kinds of connections that are now intertwined with The Chronicle’s own legacy. We set out to create an archive of community history, and The Chronicle itself is now a part of that history. [Full Story]

Editor’s note: This “Live Updates” coverage of the Ann Arbor city council’s Sept. 2, 2014 meeting includes all the material from an earlier preview article published last week. The intent is to facilitate easier navigation from the live updates section to background material already in this file.

The council’s first regular meeting in September was shifted from Monday to Tuesday in order to accommodate the Labor Day holiday.

The sign on the door to the Ann Arbor city council chamber includes Braille.

The Sept. 2 agenda is relatively light and is dominated by land use and development issues, several of them related to the Ann Arbor housing commission’s (AAHC) extensive plan to renovate many of its existing properties.

In other significant business, the council will consider giving direction to the city administrator to negotiate operating agreements with transportation networking companies like Uber and Lyft.

And the council will consider authorizing up to a 15-year extension of the local development finance authority (LDFA), based on collaborating with a satellite arrangement in Adrian and Tecumseh.

Separate from site plan and zoning issues associated with the AAHC’s renovations, the council will also consider transferring $729,879 from the affordable housing trust fund to the Ann Arbor housing commission. The fund transfer would support the “West Arbor” portion of the renovation plan. That would leave a $850,920 balance in the trust fund. The trust fund’s current balance stems largely from the council’s decision late last year – on Dec. 16, 2013 – to deposit into the trust fund the net proceeds of the sale of the former Y lot.

Two projects associated with the West Arbor part of the AAHC plan appear on the council’s Sept. 2 agenda. First, the council will consider initial approval of rezoning for the 3451 Platt Road property – from R1C (single-family dwelling district) and R2A (two-family dwelling district) to R4B (multi-family dwelling district). That was forwarded to the council with a recommendation of approval from the planning commission. However, commissioners postponed consideration of the site plan for the five-building, 32-unit project, amid concerns about the site’s location in the floodplain and stormwater management. The site plan may be able to “catch up” to the zoning approval – because the council will need to give the rezoning a second and final approval at a meeting following the Sept. 2 session.

Second, the North Maple Estates site plan, which requires just one council vote, will be considered on Sept. 2. The rezoning required for the AAHC project – a 4.8-acre site at 701 N. Maple Road – has already been given final approval by the city council, at its Aug. 18, 2014 meeting. The zoning was changed from R1C (single-family dwelling district) to R4B (multi-family dwelling district). The site plan, which was shifted to the Sept. 2 agenda, calls for demolishing 20 existing single-family homes – the public housing complex known as North Maple Estates – and constructing an eight-building, 42-unit apartment complex with a total of 138 bedrooms.

A non-AAHC land development item on the council’s Sept. 2 agenda is final approval of the rezoning of property necessary for an expansion of the Gift of Life Michigan facility on Research Park Drive. The rezoning would change 6.55 acres from O (office district) and RE (research district) to ORL (office/research/limited industrial district). The site plan, which also appears on the Sept. 2 agenda, calls for building a three-story, 40,786-square-foot addition to connect two existing buildings at 3161 and 3169 Research Park Drive, which are owned and occupied by the nonprofit.

Even though the council rejected one proposed change to its taxicab ordinance at its Aug. 18 meeting – which would have regulated all drivers for hire in the city – initial approval was given to another change in the part of the ordinance that regulates rates. So the council will be giving final consideration to that change on Sept 2. The change would establish certain parameters to mitigate possible negative consequences to the setting of a very high maximum allowable taxicab rate, under which taxicab companies might eventually compete. Those parameters include a requirement that a taxicab company commit to a single rate annually and that the rate be advertised in a vehicle with signage in letters one-inch tall.

As an alternative to requiring all drivers for hire to be registered with the city and to affix commercial plates to their vehicles, the council will consider whether to establish operating agreements with companies like Uber and Lyft. The council’s Sept. 2 agenda includes a resolution that would direct the city administrator to negotiate operating agreements with transportation network companies (TNCs) in lieu of developing a local law. The resolution does not define in specific terms what a TNC is.

In other business on Sept. 2, the council will consider a large contract with Ultimate Software Group, worth $250,000 for payroll software to cover the period as the city transitions to NuView, a different software system. Another large contract to be considered by the council on Sept. 2 is with Northwest Consultants Inc. for $930,822 – to do design work for the Stadium Boulevard reconstruction project from Kipke Drive to Hutchins.

A smaller contract to be considered by the council, as part of the consent agenda, is with Hinshon Environmental Consulting Inc. for additional facilitation services for the technical oversight and advisory group (TOAG). That group is overseeing and coordinating multiple wet weather-related projects in the city. The $10,000 contract amendment would bring the total contract value to $35,000.

The council will also consider the confirmation of several nominations to boards and commissions, including a reappointment of John Splitt to the board of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority. It would be Splitt’s third four-year term on the board.

This article includes more detailed information about many of these agenda items. More details on other agenda items are available on the city’s online Legistar system. The meeting proceedings can be followed Tuesday evening live on Channel 16, streamed online by Community Television Network starting at 7 p.m.

"Just as I very much like living in a community where we set our children to the task of building and working inside of ersatz, air-filled land-whales, I also very much like living in a community where we will name a school after a person because that person was good and faithful and kind."

My son starts third grade at Pattengill this week. He spent the first three years of his compulsory education riding the big yellow bus to Bryant Elementary – Pattengill’s K-2 sister school, sorta-kinda over by the municipal airport and town dump.

David Erik Nelson

Every day, on the way home from the bus stop, I’d ask what he did that day at school. Invariably they’d done nothing. I’d prod, as directed by the school: “Which specials did you have today? Did you go to the library? Did you have gym? What did you get in trouble for? Did anyone fall out of a chair?” and basically get nothing.

He clearly demonstrated that he was learning things somehow – he was reading ever more voraciously, and suddenly knew perfect squares through 10 and what a rhombus was. If the school accomplished that through long days spent sitting motionless and staring into space, far be it from me to disrupt their zen practice. “Nothing” was, after all, getting results.

But as it turns out, my kid is a damned liar. They hardly did any “nothing” at all at that school. [Full Story]

August 30 | Action by Ann Arbor planning commissioners at their Aug. 19, 2014 meeting will allow two projects to move forward: a new "modern lifestyle health spa" on West Liberty, and a new location for the Community Music School of Ann Arbor. Commissioners granted special exception uses for both projects. They also recommended the annexation and zoning of 2115 Victoria Circle, a half-acre vacant site west of Newport and north of M-14. [Full Story]

August 29 | The Ann Arbor city council's Sept. 2 agenda is relatively light and is dominated by land use and development issues, many of them related to the Ann Arbor Housing Commission's extensive plan to renovate many of its existing projects. Separate from site plan and zoning issues, the council will also be considering transferring $729,879 from the affordable housing trust fund to the Ann Arbor housing commission to support the "West Arbor" portion of the renovation plan. [Full Story]

August 28 | At an Aug. 27, 2014 hearing, judge Donald Shelton refused to grant two of three motions by plaintiffs in the footing drain disconnection lawsuit that was filed in February of this year. On his last motion day before retirement, Shelton chose to deny a motion to disqualify the city attorney’s office in its representation of the city. Shelton also declined to rule on a motion to reassign the case away from judge Timothy Connors – who will be taking over all of Shelton’s civil cases after Shelton’s last day as judge on Aug. 29. Shelton indicated agreement with plaintiffs' contention that the city has misrepresented their position to the court, but adjourned the motion on sanctions until Sept. 18. [Full Story]

August 26 | Much of the AAATA board's Aug. 21 meeting, preparations began for the departure of CEO Michael Ford. He's taking the job as CEO of the RTA in mid-October. The board approved a resolution to establish an ad hoc committee to conduct a search. In other business, the board approved a procurement contract for up to 60 new buses over the next five years, some of which will eventually support the expanded services, which started Aug. 24. A decision on the choice of drivetrain – clean diesel versus hybrid electric technology – for 27 buses the AAATA is ordering was left until as late as the board's November meeting. [Full Story]

August 24 | Liberty Plaza was the focus of two items that appeared on the Aug. 19, 2014 agenda for the Ann Arbor park advisory commission: (1) extension of a fee waiver for events held at Liberty Plaza; and (2) feedback in response to city council action, which addressed Liberty Plaza and the potential park atop the Library Lane underground parking structure. PAC voted to form a subcommittee to study these issues based on increased programming at those sites, and to report back to city council by October 2015. [Full Story]

August 23 | The footing drain disconnection lawsuit filed against the city of Ann Arbor in late February 2014 has taken several procedural turns over the last six months, with virtually no issues on the merits of the case yet decided. The latest procedural issues now appear set to be decided on Aug. 27, 2014 – judge Donald Shelton's final motion day before his retirement. The procedural issues include: (1) a motion to disqualify the city attorney's office from representing the city due to conflicts; (2) a motion to sanction the city attorneys for filing documents with statements that have no factual foundation; and (3) a motion to reassign the case to a judge other than Timothy Connors. [Full Story]

August 22 | From Chronicle editor Dave Askins' column: "So the real contrast on display at the Aug. 18 Ann Arbor city council meeting was not deer versus people. It was corporations versus people. What I observed on Monday was a council that was – at least on that occasion – more interested in hearing from a corporation than it was from a person who lives here." [Full Story]

August 22 | Continuing a tradition that began in 2011, The Ann Arbor Chronicle recognizes remarkable people and organizations in this community with the 4th annual Bezonki awards. The 2014 Bezonki winners were honored at an Aug. 15 reception: Ryan Burns, Linh and Dug Song, the Finding Your Political Voice program, Mary Jo Callan, Tom Fitzsimmons, and Jeannine Palms. [Full Story]

August 20 | At their Aug. 12, 2014 working session, Ann Arbor planning commissioners gave feedback on new guides that staff have developed for residents and developers, aimed at improving communication about proposed development projects. The "Citizens' Guide to Effective Communication" and "Developers' Guide to Leading Effective Citizen Participation Meetings" were drafted by planning staff, based in part on suggestions from the planning commission's citizen outreach committee. [Full Story]

August 18 | Land use and development is set up to be a dominant theme of the Aug. 18, 2014 meeting, as it frequently is for many of the council's meetings. An additional highlight will be initial consideration of a change to the city's taxicab ordinance – in response to the entry of services like Uber and Lyft into Ann Arbor's market. Projects to be considered by the council include the State Street Village project, the Ann Arbor Housing Commission's North Maple Estates proposal and the 121 Kingsley West project. [Full Story]

August 17 | A proposal to establish a county-issued ID card program is being reviewed by the board of commissioners, who were briefed on the recommendations of a task force at their Aug. 7, 2014 working session. A county identification card would allow residents who don’t have a driver’s license or other government-issued photo ID to access services that require that kind of identification, like renting an apartment or opening a bank account. [Full Story]

August 14 | Land use and development is set up to be a dominant theme of the Aug. 18, 2014 meeting, as it frequently is for many of the council's meetings. An additional highlight will be initial consideration of a change to the city's taxicab ordinance – in response to the entry of services like Uber and Lyft into Ann Arbor's market. Projects to be considered by the council include the State Street Village project, the Ann Arbor Housing Commission's North Maple Estates proposal and the 121 Kingsley West project. [Full Story]

August 12 | What if on-street metered rates were raised a dime, and rates across other parts of the parking system were also raised by an equivalent percentage? In this column, Chronicle editor Dave Askins encourages the Ann Arbor city council to use its Sept. 8 joint work session with the Downtown Development Authority to ask The contractually stipulated work session would be a good opportunity for councilmembers to ask for metrics on Ann Arbor's public parking system. Requested information should include stats that indicate how well Ann Arbor’s public parking system supports three different key user groups: (1) downtown employees; (2) retail/transactional customers and visitors; and (3) downtown residents. [Full Story]

August 12 | At their Aug. 6, 2014 meeting, Washtenaw County commissioners took initial votes to levy two taxes that would generate revenues for economic development, agricultural projects, and support of indigent veterans. They also approved allocations for six projects using $87,760 in Act 88 revenues. The board received a second-quarter budget update, with projections showing a general fund surplus of $211,920 for the year. [Full Story]

August 10 | Ann Arbor city planning commissioners took mixed action on a proposed Ann Arbor Housing Commission (AAHC) property.They sent the rezoning request for the 3451 Platt Rd. property – R1C (single-family dwelling district) and R2A (two-family dwelling district) to R4B (multi-family dwelling district) – to the city council with a recommendation of approval. However, commissioners postponed consideration of the site plan for the five-building, 32-unit project, amid concerns about the site's location in the floodplain and stormwater management.The commission approved a change to its bylaws that would stipulate that speakers who have already spoken at a public hearing can speak at a continuation of that public hearing only at the discretion of the planning commission chair [Full Story]

August 7 | On Sept. 2, 2014, The Ann Arbor Chronicle will observe the sixth anniversary of its launch. That's also the last day on which we'll publish regular new reports.The website will remain live, with its archives freely accessible at least until the end of 2014, possibly longer. There may be a special project or two that we will wrap up and eventually insert into the archives.The event listings will remain live, and it's our intent to maintain them into the future. [Full Story]

August 7 | The Ann Arbor city council's election-week meeting is being held on Thursday, Aug. 7, instead of Monday. The agenda is relatively light, with many of the items dealing with land-use and zoning matters – which have an associated public hearing. The consent agenda is packed with renewals of contracts for various software packages and computer maintenance. Among the land development items are the Delta Chi project and The Mark condominiums. [Full Story]

August 7 | This article includes the final unofficial results for the city council races, including maps and charts. In Ward 1 Sumi Kailasapathy received 1,113 (56.8%) votes compared to 840 (42.8%) for Don Adams. In the Ward 2 city council race, Kirk Westphal received 1,819 (59%) votes to Nancy Kaplan's 1,261 (41%). In the three-way Ward 3 race, Julie Grand received 1,516 (51.1%) votes compared to Bob Dascola's 794 (26.8%), and Samuel McMullen's 616 (20.8%). [Full Story]

August 6 | Final unofficial results from the Washtenaw County clerk's office have confirmed the results of early, informal reports directly from the Aug. 5, 2014 polls: Christopher Taylor has won the Democratic nomination for mayor of Ann Arbor. Some observers felt the four-way race could be won with as little as 35% of the vote. Taylor achieved a near majority, but fell a couple of percentage points short of 50% city-wide. Taylor received 7,070 votes (47.6%) compared to Sabra Briere's 2,967 (20%), Stephen Kunselman's 2,447 (16.5%) and Sally Petersen's 2,364 (15.9%). [Full Story]

August 6 | Julia Owdziej and Tracy Van den Bergh will advance to the Nov. 4 election for Washtenaw County probate judge, following the outcome of a five-way race in the nonpartisan Aug. 5 primary. And in the 22nd circuit court race, Patrick Conlin and Veronique Liem prevailed over Michael Woodyard to advance to the Nov. 4 election. [Full Story]

August 5 | This article provides early, informally reported results from the individual precincts for the Aug. 5, 2014 Democratic primary elections for city of Ann Arbor mayor and city councilmember. These results include tallies for the mayoral primary, contested by Sabra Briere, Sally Petersen, Christopher Taylor and Stephen Kunselman. Ward 1 results are for the race between Sumi Kailasapathy and Don Adams. Ward 2 results are for the race between Nancy Kaplan and Kirk Westphal. And Ward 3 results are for the three-way race between Julie Grand, Bob Dascola and Samuel McMullen. [Full Story]

August 5 | As we have for the past few years, The Chronicle will be touring Ann Arbor polling stations on Election Day and providing updates throughout the day. Polls are open today from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. This article includes reports from the field on observations made from some of the 48 different precincts throughout the city. [Full Story]

August 4 | Unofficial results for Tuesday's local primary election races will be available on the Washtenaw County clerk's election results page. Polls close at 8 p.m. so the earliest results will start showing up on the clerk's website a couple hours after that. The Chronicle would like to improve on that "delay." We're asking regular folks throughout the city to visit a precinct after the polls close at 8 p.m. – and report the numbers from the publicly posted paper results tape. [Full Story]

August 3 | Leading up to the Aug. 5, 2014 primary election, this article provides a roundup of Chronicle election coverage, for anyone who's still studying up on the candidates. It includes links to reports and recordings of candidate forums, campaign finance data, analysis and other information. Links are also provided to candidate websites and League of Women Voters candidate profiles. [Full Story]

August 3 | The main action item at the July 15, 2014 meeting of the Ann Arbor park advisory commission related to renewal of a lease for parking at a Fuller Park surface lot. PAC recommended that the city renew the lease for two years, with an additional two-year option for renewal beyond that. The agenda also included two items related to Liberty Plaza, which were deferred to a later date because three commissioners were absent. [Full Story]

August 3 | In the August 2014 adventures of Bezonki, we watch some critters go on a bit of a romp, never noticing what's under their feet. Are they being chased? Just getting some exercise? Only Bezonki knows for sure – at the cost of an unwelcome surprise. [Full Story]

August 2 | The July 24, 2014 meeting of the AAATA board was the next-to-last one before the the Aug. 24 rollout of the expanded services that will be offered, funded by a new millage that passed in May of this year. The board received some updates on the preparations for that implementation. And three of the board's July 24 voting items were related at least indirectly to implementing additional services: approval of a plan for acquisition of 20 new buses; adjustments to the current fiscal year's operating budget; and approval of a tweak to the AAATA's mission statement. A prominent theme of the meeting was accessibility. [Full Story]

August 1 | The Ann Arbor city council's election-week meeting will be held on Thursday, Aug. 7, instead of Monday. The agenda is relatively light, with many of the items dealing with land-use and zoning matters – which have an associated public hearing. The consent agenda is packed with renewals of contracts for various software packages and computer maintenance. Among the land development items are the Delta Chi project and The Mark condominiums. [Full Story]

July 31 | Action at the July board meeting allocated in total nearly $570,000 toward three infrastructure projects, mostly related to the downtown library. A special meeting on July 29 added $75,000 to that amount. The project include renovations to the downtown entrance, elevator repair, and carpet replacement. Public commentary was dominated by fans of AADL's summer game – in part because they could earn points by speaking to the board. [Full Story]

July 30 | From July 28-29, several Ann Arbor residents reported being polled by telephone about their preferences in the upcoming Democratic mayoral primary election. The Chronicle has obtained the results of that poll of 435 likely voters by Public Policy Polling (PPP), a North Carolina polling firm. The results show Ward 3 councilmember Christopher Taylor to be a clear favorite with about a week to go before the Aug. 5, 2014 primary. Taylor polled at 39% compared to 19% for Ward 1 councilmember Sabra Briere. Ward 3 councilmember Stephen Kunselman and Ward 2 councilmember Sally Petersen polled a few points behind Briere at 15% and 13% respectively. The poll indicates that 15% of voters still haven't made up their minds. [Full Story]

» You may find older stories on the Archives Page, organized by date and section.

MICATS (Michigan Coalition Against Tar Sands) is reporting that two of its protesters have been arrested for locking their necks with bicycle U-locks to pipeline construction trucks being used for the Enbridge Line 6B pipeline expansion. [Source]

In a roundup of the lineup for the Aug. 5, 2014 primary elections, we overstated by one year Ward 5 councilmember Chuck Warpehoski’s length of service as a council representative on the city’s environmental commission. He served in that capacity during his first year on the council. We note the error here and have corrected the original article.